The freshness of many foodstuffs is preserved by storing these foodstuffs in sealed containers. The spoilage of the foodstuffs is accelerated by exposure to air, either through the effects of moisture in air, or the oxidative effects of atmospheric oxygen. Food is widely stored before use then in closed, tightly sealed containers in an effort to preserve and extend the useful life of food. Various sizes and shapes of sealed containers are widely used to contain and store food away from the components of air which cause oxidation and moisture spoilage. These sealed containers are normally used however as simple closed vessels for holding the food away from exposure to air. When food is stored in typical sealed containers there is usually accompanying air which is trapped within the sealed container with any food contained therein. This accompanying air can still have detrimental effects on the enclosed food. There would be demand then for storage containers which can be sealed around food, and which are configured to allow the evacuation of the accompanying air from the space around the enclosed food. To be of use to the average consumer such a container should also provide means for the evacuation of the container, and this means for evacuation should be convenient to use.
An attempt to provide for storage of food under vacuum with a system that is affordable for the average consumer may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,970 to ErkenBrack. The storage system described therein used a vacuum pump to evacuate a storage container. The mode of operation of the vacuum pump is by manually applying external force to the body of the pump, or squeezing it. This has the disadvantage of being difficult to operate by the elderly, or disabled and of being time consuming to operate.
Another attempt to provide a convenient vacuum container for consumer use is the "Celedon.TM. Vacumizer". This container system uses separate food containers and vacuum pumps. For use of this system food is placed in a container and the container is taken to the vacuum pump, which is powered by household line current. After removal of food from the container the reuse of the container requires that the container be returned to the location of the vacuum pump. The reestablishment of a vacuum inside the containers of this system may be carried out only where the vacuum pump is located, which must be in proximity to an electrical outlet. This system has the disadvantage of lacking portability. It would be difficult to use out of doors or in homes with a shortage of electrical outlets. For example, it could not be used on picnics, inside many home pantries or in many basements.